Call for tighter regulations on alternative medicines

The World Today - Tuesday, 29 April , 2003 12:14:11

Reporter: Michael Vincent

ELEANOR HALL: In response to this massive product recall there are calls from the medical establishment today for tighter regulation of non-prescription medicines like vitamins, but for consumers now in a spin about what they've been putting into their bodies, it won't be any relief to know that at the moment there's very little scientific evidence about the effects of many alternative medicines.

As Michael Vincent reports.

MICHAEL VINCENT: Echinacea, St John's Wort and Ginseng are all names of remedies just as common to consumers as paracetamol, and they come in the form of a pill or a powder and once taken, can relieve a symptom or add to the body's natural protection.

Or do they? In the light of the recall of Pan products, community leaders, such as NSW Premier Bob Carr, are mounting an attack on natural remedies.

BOB CARR: I think the public's got to be a whole lot more sceptical about complementary or alternative medicine. Some of the therapies may work. Others are very, very dubious and have a placebo effect. I mean it's not much more advanced than the medicine man hucksters of the last, of the 19th century.

MICHAEL VINCENT: And doctors are also on the attack, critical of alternative medicines which are either partially or not scientifically tested at all.

Head of the AMA's Federal Therapeutics Committee, Dr Robyn Napier.

ROBYN NAPIER: I think what we've seen here is that some substances have been, it's alleged that some substances have been produced that have varying quality, varying purity and ah, varying effects.

MICHAEL VINCENT: But how dangerous is it to take, you know, the equivalent of 10 times the daily dose of Vitamin C for example?

ROBYN NAPIER: Well I think it was Trish Worth who said that some of the risks that were outlined were that some people had hallucinations and they were wanting to jump out of planes and off boats. So I suppose…

MICHAEL VINCENT: In the case of one drug, in the case of one of those drugs.

ROBYN NAPIER: Yes, okay, this is one of those drugs that has alerted us to the problem. Okay. That's alerted the TGA to a problem. Now how dangerous is it to jump out of a plane?

MICHAEL VINCENT: It has been shown that St John's Wort, as one example, can affect prescription drugs but otherwise those who work with alternative therapies or herbal remedies say most negative effects are slight or benign and their risks to consumers are greatly outweighed by their potential positive effects.

DOUG MOORE: There are recommended doses in the various herbal pharmacopoeias and generally speaking the doses that are in individual capsules will be less than what is a recommended daily dose in, as listed in the herbal pharmacopoeias.

MICHAEL VINCENT: What are those recommended doses based on?

DOUG MOORE: That's a good question. They're, they're based on essentially anecdotal usage, you know, traditional usage of these compounds and there has been a, a limited amount of testing.

Of course, through the traditional use it is known that they're safe and the doses have been recommended based on what little is known about the toxicity. Generally speaking, they're not, not toxic unless taken in very large amounts.

MICHAEL VINCENT: Which is the same for prescription drugs. They're considered safe unless taken in large amounts as well.

But as for the positive or negative effects of alternative therapies, the Head of the School of Natural and Complementary Medicines at Southern Cross University, Paul Orrock, says the information about alternative medicines is growing all the time.

PAUL ORROCK: Herbal medicines can be toxic if, particularly the alkaloids, certain constituents of the plant, are taken in too high doses and they accumulate in the body. There's been some evidence of things toxic to the liver particularly and the kidney in some of the Chinese medicines and in terms of vitamins, the fat-soluble vitamins can accumulate in the body and they've shown to have some toxicity, particularly Vitamin A, I think is the most famous one for that, for people taking high doses of Vitamin A can affect their foetus in pregnancy and the toxic elements can accumulate.

So, yeah, I mean there are some things in complementary therapies or complementary medicines that can be toxic and on the other side of the coin is that, 'cause some of them are, they're finding evidence that it's, they have some effect as well.

MICHAEL VINCENT: Just on that though, do you think enough, enough information is given to consumers of alternative medicines or complementary medicines?

PAUL ORROCK: I think I'd agree with you that there is some work to be done on the consumer's choice and their education about their choice at the consuming level, at the retail level.

ELEANOR HALL: The Head of the School of Natural and Complementary Medicines at Southern Cross University, Paul Orrock ending that report from Michael Vincent.